MLB Not Ready to Approve Padded Caps for Pitchers

Major League Baseball has not yet approved baseball caps with protective linings pitchers could wear to protect them against line drives to the head.

According to MLB senior vice president Dan Halem, baseball officials spent the offseason testing prototypes, but have yet to find a product that has passed various safety tests.

“We’re not going to approve a product unless our experts say it provides adequate protection,” Halem said last week on ESPN.

Halem said MLB is considering a padded cap that features DuPont Kevlar and another that uses an advanced foam “gel-to-shell” product. If and when MLB approves the caps, pitchers would have the option to voluntarily wear them.

After many scary incidents over the years in which pitchers have been hit squarely in the head with vicious line drives right up the middle, MLB made it a priority this offseason to work on caps that could better protect pitchers.